Smith's contract has no dead money if he's cut. He costs $2.05 million and isn't worth half of that. Why haven't the Jets asked him to take a paycut or threaten to cut him? Or cut him and offered him the veterans' minimum to return? Eric Smith isn't any more talented than a fifth-round draft pick this year
In case you hadnt noticed we are not exactly flush with safeties - I agree he is a bit crap but he knows he system and is fairly robust.
Which is why his ass needs to be cut. Clip clip. I say add one more starting safety (atogwe) and draft another in the 2nd-4th round. Cut Smith and maybe add one more FA scrub. Draft or add a gunner for minimum contract. 1 million dollars and headaches saved.
Even if they get Atogwe that would mean we have two safeties who couldn't stay on the field for a complete year last year...all the idiots here scream for depth every chance they get, here is one time it is needed.
He is a special teams monster, the plays he has made on special teams have earned him a spot on this team, as bad as he is in coverage. He wont be cut or restructured.
Listen, if the guy is on the roster making backup money doing backup roles I'm happy as a pig in shit. I just don't want to see starter money or near starter money for a guy that never got his hand on a football in the air in his life. Special teams this, blah that. The value difference between an all-star special teams roleplayer and an above average roleplayer that he could be replaced with realistically is just not that high. And there are a ton of above average guys out there who will work for no money. I feel like his abilities as a backup only hurt his value to the team rather than help. Just having that little white boy back there on the roster means we're trading guys like Kerry Rhodes and not developing new speculative picks at the position that might have a chance to do something someday. It means that every time he comes in I have to have a moment of deja vu to the past years of pain and anguish watching the pass sail desperately out of his reach as another receiver easily reels it in for another big gain. It means I'm about to relive those feelings for however the (hopefully) briefest of moments. That said, we have less than no depth on the roster and you correctly point out that we have injury concerns with starter/s besides. He is I guess a necessary evil this year for that alone.
the most obvious answer is we still only have 3 safeties under contract and 1 is extremely injury prone, the other was PS player last year.
Hey his name is Tracy Wilson. Maybe like everyone named Wilson is good if they play in the Jets backfield. I'm relatively sure I saw him get not burned once or twice in a game besides last year, besides. Gotta be worth somethin'.
Tannenbaum said yesterday they still haven't ruled out bring Leonhard back..I don't see that happening unless it is at a very low incentive laden price.
I love all the knee JERK reactions about Smith. Its true he is limited in coverage, but he is very good against the run. The shouts for his removal show the lack of knowledge in the system the Jets employ as well as the total lack of understanding between a SS and a FS. This defense is predicated on stopping the run first, which is something the Jets couldn't do under the past five plus coaching staffs. Being able to stop the run puts opponants in third and long passing situations. Ideally this is where Smith exits the game for a nickle or dime cover corner. Unfortunately, Landry also plays SS and the Jets don't have a centerfielder (FS) on the current roster. Now back to the bitching.
We currently lack two good starters, let alone any kind of safety depth. No need to cut a warm body at this point unless its to get under the cap to sign a better safety.
Sorry that my mind likes to dream of a better world in which I don't have to watch Wayne Fucking and ES wearing green and white. Imagine all the people...livin' for.. Well yeah, that would be the idea of cuttin him. If we had two adequate starters and a backup we could afford to dump him if it frees up cap to bring one of those pieces in.
Excellent post. I think it should be clear that lack of football knowledge exhibited here is in direct proportion to the degree of hatred a poster has for Smith. Such people don't understand the Jet D or Smith's role in it.
